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Spring Valley Officer Ed Jauch- Victim or Perpetrator?

We recently exposed LaSalle County SAFE officer for holding himself out as an FBI Agent, which he is not. Coverage of that situation and the video can be found in this article.

After that coverage, a flurry of Facebook posts followed with everything from how great this guy was to how bad he was. We found it interesting to see some of the support comments, as most were focused on the justification of questionable action because drugs were being removed from the streets, as if the end justifies the means.

Some information dropped into our lap recently which painted a rather interesting picture of Officer Jauch that appears to point to him in less than a positive manner for a police officer. As I outlined in the previous article, trust in our law enforcement is being destroyed by a few bad actors.

I fully support our Emergency Service personnel and believe our future depends on their presence as without them we will have anarchy. In order to support them and trust them, we must know them and know what they stand for.

What do you think of an officer of the law telling another officer – “Jimmy, don’t make a big deal of this. Just do whatever bullshit report you have to do and let it go.”

Is that not an indication that justice is not being served or laws enforced? What kind of officer instructs another to create a “bullshit” report and let it go?

“Jauch again refused to state what happened to him.” So an officer of the law refuses to cooperate with an investigation of a possible crime being committed?

“She advised (Jauch’s wife) me that Ed left on his motorcycle last night after supper. He told her that he had to go to Bureau County to speak with a couple of inmates. She stated that she was sound asleep when he arrived home around 3:00 a.m”. – Must have been a LONG conversation late into the night! We are working on confirming any such visit to inmates took place. Reading the police report, however, points to something either in addition to an inmate visit, or possibly an entirely different purpose for Jauch to go to Bureau County.

“He stated that a man that he had never met before who had been in the bar with a female, had gotten on
his motorcycle and was behind him.” –Based on the police report, Jauch was in a bar with a female. Maybe she was a former inmate?

“Lanham stated that he was told by Brent Vogel, that one of his friends was out in a car with a girl from the bar. He stated that he went out into the parking lot in an attempt to speak with him. He stated that when he reached the car, he noticed it was not his friend, but who he described as Jauch in the car.” – So Jauch is actually in a car with a woman, who is not his wife. Maybe she was a former inmate that he needed to speak with at the bar or in his car….Sam I am.

“Richard stated that he grabbed his brother, Jerry, to try and break up the fight, and was told by Jerry, that Jauch had hit his sister.”

“At this time the man took a swing at him and he ducked. He stated that the man hit Barbara Lanham in the face.” – So an officer of the law actually hit a woman?

Reading the entire police report raises more questions than we have time for, but it does appear that Officer Jauch is not the good guy so many have implied in their support of him.

Jauch tells his wife he is going to speak to inmates and ends up in what appears to be a late night bar fight that points to him being in a bar and vehicle with a person other than his wife. He refuses to cooperate with the police investigation and wants a “bullshit” report written up and have the matter dropped.

“After speaking with with Investigator Girton, Lt, Hasbrook, and Lt. Trevicr, about the interviews and statements in this incident, and based on the fact that Jauch did not want to pursue this incident nor even have it investigated in the least, at this time the case is closed.”

Is that request because of multiple witnesses pointing to Officer Jauch as the instigator in this case of Battery instead of being the victim as he reported to his wife? “She stated that she woke up and asked him what happened and he stated that he got jumped.” The report points to Jauch as the one doing the jumping and by all indications he got his tail whipped for it.

Our suggestion to everyone is to read the entire report and ask yourself, is this an indicator of why we lose trust in some of our law enforcement? With multiple witnesses to the event, we can only wonder why Jauch was not facing a battery charge for his actions? Was this yet another example of law enforcement protecting another law enforcement officer who did wrong?

It’s these types of troubling events that our good officers must stand up against and fight to regain the trust we need to have in our law enforcement officers. If we can’t trust them to police themselves how can we trust them to police the citizens of their community?